Page 25 of Rating the Book Boyfriend

He shakes his head as one hand drops to pet my dog’s head. “No, pterodactyls.”

“Ah. That was my second guess.”

Joe is undeterred by my sarcasm. “Everyone thinks those dinosaur movies are fiction, but every bit of fiction is based in fact. I saw on the internet where two of them had escaped.”

My eyes follow the horizon, though I know with reasonable certainty I won’t be seeing any prehistoric creatures flying around. I simply love looking out where the vast sea meets the even more vast sky. It’s humbling and reminds me just how small I am in the grand scheme of things. How small my problems are.

“Any luck yet?”

He lowers the binoculars and lets out a sigh. “Naw. What can I do you for today?” Turning toward me, he smiles with teeth that are surprisingly white compared with the rest of his grizzled appearance. A full, gray-and-black beard lines the bottom of a face that’s weathered from age and the sun.

“I need to borrow a vessel tomorrow.”

“You takin’ clients out?”

“No. She’s not a client.”

He lifts an overly furry eyebrow. “Lady friend?”

“She’s a lady, and she’s a friend, so yes.”

Joe smiles again. “Course you can. You’re part owner of this place, after all.”

“I’m not part owner, Joe. I just loaned you some money.”

“Whatever. You want to go out for a bit? I got some new cigars and a cooler full of beer.”

I reach down and rub Ace’s head. “Hey, boy. You want to go on a boat ride?”

His happy yip is all the answer I need.

“Hey! Am I late?” Libby asks as soon as she’s out of her vehicle on Saturday morning.

“Two minutes early, actually,” I let her know.Not that I was excited to see you or anything.

“Okay, good. I’ve gotten everything unpacked except the box with my sunglasses. I had to dig for them.”

“You’re unpacked already? You only moved in a couple days ago.”

“I’m a very organized person,” she says, hitching a soft leather briefcase thing with a long strap over one shoulder and a yellow-and-white striped beach bag over the other.

“I think you mentioned that before.”

The sun hasn’t risen yet, but Libby is lit by the pole lights in the small parking lot beside Joe’s Marina. She’s wearing a white sleeveless tee with a bright graphic beach design on the front, yellow flip-flops, and short denim cutoffs. Very short.Not that I’m looking.

“Are you sure I don’t need to bring snacks?” she asks, her long, blonde ponytail bouncing as she walks across the parking lot toward me.

“Nope. Everything is provided.” Just as I’m about to ask her if she minds Ace going with us, the crazy mutt bounds from the small office. “Ace, no!” I call sharply, but it’s too late. He’s on Libby, but to my surprise, she doesn’t seem to mind.

Dropping her bags, she squats and opens her arm to receive all sorts of doggy loving. “Well, hellooooo, big boy? What’s your name?” she croons, and the dog goes nuts, wagging his tail and wriggling his body in excitement at finding a new human.

“His name is Ace, and he’s a tad overexuberant,” I say dryly, striding the few feet to try and extricate my buddy from poor Libby. I reach for his collar, but he ducks me and licks the woman from her neck to her cheek. “Ace, cut it out you big oaf.”

“Hims not an oaf is hims?” she asks in a baby voice, finding Ace’s sweet spot with ease and rubbing up and down the sides of his furry neck. “No, hims a sweet fluffernugget.”

I laugh and stop trying to pull my dopey pooch away. Libby seems to be a dog person. “Did you just call my dog a fluffernugget?”

“Of course,” she says, sparing me a glance before turning her attention back to Ace. “He’s fluffy, and he’s just a big nugget of sweetness. Please tell me he’s coming with us.”

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